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SUNY Potsdam's Center for Lifelong Education and Recreation dropping rec programs due to budget

Posted 8/9/18

POTSDAM — Beginning this fall, the Center for Lifelong Education and Recreation (CLEAR) will no longer offer recreational programs at SUNY Potsdam due to budget constraints and the need to dedicate …

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SUNY Potsdam's Center for Lifelong Education and Recreation dropping rec programs due to budget

Posted

POTSDAM — Beginning this fall, the Center for Lifelong Education and Recreation (CLEAR) will no longer offer recreational programs at SUNY Potsdam due to budget constraints and the need to dedicate staff to other campus priorities.

“On behalf of SUNY Potsdam, we would like to thank you for your participation in one, or several, of our non-credit recreational offerings over the years,” Joshua LaFave, executive director of graduate & continuing education wrote in an email to CLEAR participants.

SUNY Potsdam will continue to work with the community in other ways, through both existing and new programs, LaFave said.

“Serving our community will always remain a key priority and is a critical component of the mission of the college,” he said.

As a part of this change, SUNY Potsdam is making changes to its space reservation processes, to increase access for external groups to use campus facilities, including opportunities to hold various classes and programs at the college.

“To that end, we would welcome the opportunity to work with community organizations to host recreational and other non-credit activities on campus,” LaFave said. “Thank you for your participation in CLEAR programs. We look forward to serving you, and our community, in the future.”

“Although CLEAR as an entity is dissolving here at SUNY Potsdam, there are a number of programs and initiatives that it was involved with that will continue to run,” said SUNY Potsdam Director of Public Relations Alexandra Jacobs Wilke. They include:

• Select swim programs: The Bears Swim program at Maxcy Pool will continue, and will be partnering with the Tribs program in the area. The Department of Public Health and Human Performance will continue to coordinate open swims and community use of the Merritt Hall pool.

• Summer camps: The Crane Youth Music (CYM), North Country Science and Technology Entry Program (NCSTEP) and Bears Athletics summer camps will all continue. Conversations are still ongoing about continuing the Creative Arts Summer Camp, although these decisions are not related to the CLEAR dissolution.

• Conferences: The Local Government Conference, Courts Conference and Journey Into Literacy Conference will all continue.

• Community programs: The St. Lawrence Leadership Institute at SUNY Potsdam will continue, in partnership with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. The College will continue to support SOAR and its lifelong learning programs.

• Facility rentals: Third-party agreements for use of campus spaces will now be overseen by Facilities, and the college says it is improving these systems to better allow for increased access by community groups.